Entertainment

Learning to fly, shoot and blow up everything in 'Just Cause 3'

There's really only one reason to play Just Cause 3: the giant honking explosions. Wherever you go in Avalanche Studios' massive open world, there's something you can blast into tiny pieces. What's more, you're encouraged to do that.

The game's premise sees your CIA badass, Rico Rodriguez, reclaiming his homeland from a brutal dictator. It's a process that involves taking back lost territory — one guard outpost, settlement, city, airport and sprawling base at a time. Rico cares more about the land than the stuff built on top of it, so taking over territory means blowing up pretty much everything you see.

There's a lot of ground to cover and a multitude of ways to sow destruction. You won't find all the answers here, but these tips should help you get your one-man revolution started in style.

Mastering movement

Rico might be a trained CIA operative, but he's also kind of... slow. He only moves at one pace, and that pace is a light jog. You'd think a guy fighting to kick a dictator out of his home would do so with a little more urgency, but here we are.

Fortunately for you, Rico doesn't have to run. He has a grappling hook to do that for him. Also, a parachute and a wingsuit, either of which can be deployed whenever both of Rico's feet are off the ground. Mastering rapid movement in Just Cause 3 requires you to use these three tools in support of one another.

Image: Avalanche Studios

The grapple is your answer for straight line movement in any direction across short distances. You can use to it pull yourself up to a building's rooftop or cross a flat expanse faster than you would while running. You can even use it to break a fall; simply aim at the ground and grapple when you're in range to immediately negate any fall damage you would have taken.

The grapple is also a handy tool if you want to take to the air in your wingsuit when there isn't a steep drop handy. Just press Y (on an Xbox controller) when you're mid-grapple to make Rico let go of the tow line and extend his wings.

There's a trick to it, though: You want to pull the left stick down as you transition to the wingsuit, using the grapple's burst of speed to push yourself up into the air. It's very much a "feel" sort of maneuver that takes some practice, but it's worth learning. Grapple-to-wingsuit transitions are a go-to escape maneuver throughout Just Cause 3.

Finally, there's the parachute. While you can (and should) use it to break long falls, it's better to think of Rico's 'chute as an airbrake. You can't really land when you're in wingsuit mode; coming into contact with the ground while you're fly-gliding simply results in a painful faceplant. That's what the parachute is for; just pop it open when you get close to your destination.

Getting the hang of these three maneuvers is only part of the challenge. The trick is to know how and when you should mix them up. The parachute isn't just a pre-landing tool. You can also use it to save yourself from wingsuit faceplants. If you're on a clear collision course with a hard surface, whether it's the ground or a wall/cliff face, pop the 'chute. Collisions only hurt you in wingsuit mode.

Image: Avalanche Studios

Keeping Rico's wingsuited self aloft also takes some practice. You gradually lose altitude as you're gliding along, but you can keep your speed up by grappling at the ground in front of you and pulling the left stick down. Master this and you can use the wingsuit to fly around indefinitely.

The art of destruction

Loosening Di Ravello's grip on the fictional Republic of Medici requires a lot of firepower. Using all that firepower creatively is the fun part.

Your main targets in any enemy-held location are typically marked with red stripes. They take many forms: radar dishes, fuel tanks, transformer boxes, water towers and plenty more besides. If it's marked with flashes of red, you probably have to destroy it.

Whenever you can get close enough to a target, C4 is your best bet. You can only set a certain number of charges at a time, but you carry an unlimited supply. Get close, plant some C4, grapple away and detonate. Easy.

Unfortunately, C4 isn't always an option in more heavily defended locations. Rocket and grenade launchers are handy for destruction at a distance, and the more territory you reclaim, the wider the range of explosive firearms you have access to.

Of course, weapons require ammo — and ammo isn't always plentiful in Just Cause 3. On those occasions, try to commandeer enemy vehicles. Helicopters are your best bet, provided anti-air defenses aren't a danger (you can also hack any SAM site you find to make it target enemy aircraft). Grapple onto the underside of a chopper, and you can hijack it with the push of a button.

Turrets and fixed weapon emplacements are also worth watching out for. These have a limitless supply of ammo, and the smaller tripod-mounted chainguns can even be removed from their mounts and carried around.

Image: Avalanche Studios

When all else fails, Rico's grappling hook doubles as a destructive tether. If you target a location — let's say a fuel tank — and hold down the grapple button, the line extends without reeling Rico in. If you then move your crosshairs to target another location (such as a nearby wall) then release the button, the grapple line forms a link between your two targets.

Once that's done, press and hold the left trigger to pull each of the grappled targets toward one another. Tethering a fuel tank to a wall allows you to rip the tank off of its base, and destroy it in the process.

The trick with tethering is to never stop experimenting. Try connecting an enemy helicopter to the ground, or two fuel tanks to one another. Tether an enemy to a high wall, then retract the line to slingshot your foe into hard concrete. The possibilities are endless, especially as your tether improves over time.

Final thoughts

When you're first starting a new game, run through the early set of story missions right away to learn some of the basic rules in Just Cause 3. At minimum, get yourself far enough to unlock flares — which facilitate fast travel — before you start to really explore.

Once that's done, tackle any Explosives or Weapon Challenges you find (by capturing enemy territory) to earn Gears that in turn unlock "mod" upgrades for Rico. Try to get yourself at least one unlock for "Max Active Explosives" from the Explosives category, and both "Precision Aim" and "Special Weapon Ammo" from the Weapon category.

Image: Avalanche Studios

Most of these don't unlock until later — but also watch for any "Scramble" challenges, which earn you Gears toward tether upgrades. The more tethers you can deploy and the stronger they are, the more mischief you can cause without ever firing a shot.

Really, once you've got the early missions squared away and you understand how flares, Rebel Drops and territory capture works, it's best to start waging your war on Di Ravello. Capturing locations is important for unlocking virtually everything in Just Cause 3, and there's nothing to stop you from taking over almost everything before you even finish the story's opening act.

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